May I Take Your Order?
by Trolley
Summary: Mod, yet not your typical Newsiesinhighschool they're in the working world now...sort of...R&R!
1. Prejob

Mod, yet not your typical "Newsies in high school." They're in the working world now…sort of…  
  
A/N: Most of the occurrences that take place in the Chicken Shack are garnered from personal experiences throughout my two years of working at a quick-service restaurant that shall remain nameless…even though some of you already know, haha. Needless to say, modifications and such have been made and such, but it's based on actual events. The newsies characters are based vaguely on my own co-workers, but for the most part, they all retain their newsie-ness. The female characters are some of my girls from the NML, and are also based on my co-workers. Josef's only in here cause I love him dearly. Hope you think it's as fun as I do! Read and review, pretty please!!!  
  
~*~  
  
Chapter 1: Pre-job  
  
It happens to us all eventually. For me, it was right after my sixteenth birthday. My parents were making me get a job. I'm growing up, I need responsibility, blah blah blah. Yeah, they just wanted to get me out of the house…  
  
But I did, after all, have bills to pay now. My parents had gotten me a BMW for my birthday, and it was agreed that I pay for insurance. My parents still covered the gas and my cell phone bill, but I figured that I should start taking at least some responsibility for myself before I moved out of my parents' estate…  
  
Yep, my parents are rich. Not rich enough to fix my eye, apparently, but it's all good. The patch is cool. My father is a computer programmer and my mother's a high-power lawyer with a future in politics. Obviously, they weren't around a lot. My mom was always off doing who knows what -- it's not like I really cared -- and dad was usually either locked in his den glued to some new beta version of such-and-such a product or away somewhere, testing some beta version of such and such a product. But, they took care of me, made sure there was always food in the house and such. They tried to provide all of life's finests for me, including enrollment at the most prestigious private school in NYC: Pineview Preparatory High School.  
  
It's not as bad as it sounds, really. Sure, it was filled with stuck-up rich preps, but they considered my to be one of them, so they liked me. Plus, the patch was quite a conversation piece. The entire school, 7-12 grades, consisted of about 300 kids, most of which were of the rich, stuck-up prep variety. Needless to say, you had your skaters, jocks, brains, and a goth or two, but they were all rich anyway, so they just kind of meshed into the whole picture. With so few people, there were a few that didn't really like me, a handful that tolerated me, and most of the rest pretty much liked me. Of course, everyone knew each other, which inevitably made your business the whole school's business. It was for this reason that I kind of kept to myself. My and my best bud Todd "Mush" Myers. There were only a few people I really liked, but I got along with just about everyone pretty well. I've been known to have my fights and all, but not unless there's a really good reason…but enough about school…  
  
I usually didn't come home right after school. The emptiness of it all was so overwhelming. So, I would go to a friend's house, chill at the mall, or just hang out at school. I had drama practice until five every other day, but other than that I wasn't really active in extracurriculars. Well, I was in choir and occasionally did a page layout or what-not for yearbook. But I didn't play any sports. Too small for football, too short for basketball, too slow for baseball.   
  
However, I could dance. I didn't like to bust out my moves too much in public, though. I would always just crank up Bowling for Soup, Green Day, Relient K, or Red Hot Chile Peppers down in the basement after a bad day and let out some stress. I had also picked up my dad's old guitar a couple of years ago, blown the dust off, and taught myself a thing or two. I could pick some mean riffs. It was a beautiful instrument: electric cherry red Monkee's Rock Edition Gretch. Her name was Wendy. My baby… But, I digress…  
  
So, about the job. The Saturday after I turned sixteen, my father just happened to have more than an hour off to breathe, and he insisted on taking me to the mall to fill out applications.   
  
"But Dad, I have my own car, I'll go later," I groaned, rolling over and shoving a pillow over my head.  
  
"Get up, Trey, I'm taking you. We need some good father-son bonding time." He yanked the pillow off my face, smiled "fatherly" at me and threw the pillow on the floor. "Be out at the car by ten, son." Finally, he left my room, leaving the door slightly ajar. Gosh, I hated when people did that! Always been quite a pet peeve of mine…  
  
I pulled myself out of bed and staggered into the bathroom, a knot beginning to form in my stomach. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my parents and all, but spending a Saturday at the mall with my geeky father wasn't exactly my idea of a good weekend. What were we supposed to talk about? Money, most likely. That's all me parents talk to me about. Money, school, and occasionally college. Not that they really talked to me that much anyway. Dang, I sound bitter. I suppose deep down I could be harboring a bit of angst, but overall I'm a very pleasant, good-natured person.  
  
I had great respect for my father, which is why I didn't dare pitch a fit about the whole getting a job thing. My mother, on the other hand…I love her to death, but she's just so stupid sometimes! Like, seriously dumb…opposite of coherent and intelligent. Like I have to tell her something at least five times before she understands it. I guess she uses all her brains at her job and I get the left-overs…  
  
My dad started honking the horn impatiently, so I tied on my patch, dragged myself out of bed, and threw on some clothes. Somehow, my hair always manages to look fine without me ever doing a thing to it. It's quite a blessing, I must say.  
  
The ride to the mall consisted of the epitome of small talk. "How's school?"  
  
"Fine…How's work?"  
  
"Good, good. Well, good for work, that is." The nervous guffaw confirmed my suspicions that that he was feeling the awkwardness just as much as I.  
  
Silence regained control for a moment, then, "Any girls in your life?"  
  
Truthfully, there were a couple that wouldn't have minded dating me, and a few more that I wouldn't have minded dating. But I could never seem to find any girls that fit into both of those categories. But I just kept it at, "No, not really." Keep it simple, I always say.  
  
After approximately 87 years of excruciating small talk, we finally pulled into the mall parking lot. My father, being the perfectionist that he is, drove around for about three days looking for the perfect parking spot. Once parked, we headed into the "arena" as Dad so aptly put it, through the food court and began hitting up the restaurants for applications.   
  
Dairy Queen wasn't hiring, Frank and Stein's was out of the question (they served alcohol…my dad was kind of religious), I was too American for the Chinese places, and Sbarro's just somehow didn't appeal to me. The wore those stupid little ties and crap. But I got applications from Quizno's and the cookie place, and by then, we had exhausted the food court of possibilities. Working retail really didn't appeal to me. Folding clothes and helping people try stuff on all day? I don't think so! Books-a-million looked boring. KB Toys was about to close down (which greatly disappointed me!) and only a bunch of old guys worked at the arcade.  
  
Then my dad remembered the Chicken Shack down by Sears. It had been around for awhile, like, since the mall opened. It wasn't in the food court because there was no food court when this place was built.  
  
"Hi," I muttered with a small smile as my dad pushed me up to the register of a semi-cute girl.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?" she asked expectantly, obviously somewhat eager to get me out of there so she could get back to sweeping her floor.  
  
"Can I get an application, please?" I could tell she tried to hide a small smirk as she tore an application off the pad and handed it to me in one fluid motion.  
  
"Good luck."  
  
I replied with merely a small nod and a slight chuckle, turning back to my dad. "Alright, let's go home."  
  
No such luck. Dad cocked an eyebrow at me, shoved a pen in my hand, and marched me around the corner into the dining room on the side of the restaurant, sitting down at a table across from me and giving me an expectant look. "Go on."  
  
I sighed and got to work. The applications were pretty general stuff, what kind of hours I wanted, what kind of stuff was I into, had I ever committed a felony…well, to make about a month-long story short, I never heard back from Quizno's or the cookie company, but I got the job at the Chicken Shack. Only time would tell what I had gotten myself into… 


	2. Training Day

Shout-ie O's!  
  
Blue Boxer: How bout a guy from Relient K dressed in the chicken suit! Yes!  
  
Studentnumber24601: Shank you, my dear…  
  
Rubix: Lol, hope you're pleased with the CC results!  
  
J.L. Jordan: Yes, the Monkees rock immensely…  
  
Fighter (TheLoneReed): …yeah…thanks for the review, girl!  
  
Frenchy: Lol, I hope you like!  
  
Stagey: I love you, hon…  
  
Josef (aka one of the sweetest guys on the planet): I'm so honored that mine was the first story you've ever read, haha! I hope I'll be able to work you in somewhere…  
  
Okay, now it's time to introduce the characters…  
  
Characters: *backstage getting nervous*  
  
…right, okay, first of all, for the girls…  
  
Girl characters: *squeal*  
  
Oh, will ya'll shut up? It's a group intro, okay?  
  
Girls: *sigh, twirling their hair boredly*  
  
First of all, for the regular girl employees, we have:  
  
Rubix  
  
Endy (Frenchy)  
  
Air  
  
Poker  
  
Flit  
  
Rant  
  
Lil Italy  
  
Lida Rose  
  
And returning college students, will have semi-small parts during the summer:  
  
Trolley (yes, I just had to give myself a small cameo! I'm actually not quite in college yet…five months!…gosh, that's soon…)  
  
Soaker  
  
Lavender  
  
  
  
Some characters based specifically off of some of my co-workers:  
  
Stagey is a sweet, somewhat quiet manager that can be goofy and sarcastic, and people like working with her.  
  
Fighter is a loud, boistrous, crazy, fun manager who causes drama in the store. People are nice to her face, but no one really likes working with her.  
  
Blue Boxer is a sacrinely sweet, always freakishly happy, grating-on-your-nerves-she's-so-freakin-always-smiling employee…nothing against Blue, btw, I love her to death! *huggles* I just needed someone for the part, lol!  
  
And for the guys:  
  
Blink: narrator  
  
Jack: General Manager  
  
David: Training Manager  
  
Spot: General Manager of a different Bucket o' Cluck  
  
Race: gets hired at the same time Blink does and they become good friends  
  
Mush: Blink's best friend from school (most likely won't work with them)  
  
Dutchy: random mall employee who eats there often…flirts with some of the girls  
  
All the other guys: will most definitely be in there!!  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter Two: Training Day  
  
I got a few weird looks when I went in for my interview, but I was pretty used to that by now. Everyone seemed really friendly and helpful though. Most of them looked like they actually enjoyed their job. One of the girls informed me that the hiring manager would most likely be late, as usual. She offered me a free drink, and then I sat down to wait. Sure enough, Brian Denton arrived about ten minutes after our appointed time for my interview. The formalities were taken care of, and a couple of days later, Denton called me back with the news that I started the next day.  
  
"Sweet!! Uh, I mean, thank you very much, sir." I cleared my throat as I stopped jumping up and down, the phone against my ear.   
  
"We're glad to have you with us, Trey. You're a great kid, and I'm sure you'll be an asset to the business. I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Yes sir, five o'clock sharp, I'll be there! Thank you so much, sir!"  
  
The next school day was quite possibly one of the longest I'd ever experienced thus far in my life. Yes, I was actually excited about starting work. Sure, the idea didn't seem too appealing at first, but when I was in for my interview and saw how much fun all these people were having with each other, I started to change my mind. Didn't seem so bad after all.  
  
"You're the new guy, right?" a redhead greeted with a small smile as I walked up the counter for my first day of training.   
  
I resisted the urge to look around to make sure she was talking to me and extended my hand in greeting. "Yeah, I am…my name's Trey."  
  
"Sarah," she said as she shook my hand. "But around here they call me Lil' Italy." She must've noticed my somewhat confused look, because she went on to explain, "We all get nicknames here. It's really quite fun." She laughed slightly as my face betrayed slight apprehension. Come on back, they'll show you what to do."  
  
I did as directed and entered the small swinging door that led to the frontbar, then the large swinging door that led to the back of the store. To my right was the backbar, where a guy was standing around, waiting for an order to come up on the screen. He heard me come back and looked over. "Oh, hey, new guy?" I chuckled and nodded. "Just go right back there to the kitchen, you'll see David."  
  
Assuming David was my trainer, I walked straight back a little more through some narrow hallways, miscellaneous buckets and dustpans strewn about the floor. Once in the kitchen, a wide open area with a row of sinks along one wall and metal counters lining the others, I saw a guy crouched in front of something that looked like some sort of oven. He appeared to be fixing it, so I decided not to disturb him.   
  
"Hey David," another guy called as he walked by, "looks like your new trainee is here." The guy gave me an indifferent glance and continued towards the front of the store.   
  
My trainer, David, backed out of the oven and looked up at me. "Oh, hey, you're here. Um, just gimme one second, sorry about this."  
  
"Not a problem." I nodded and smiled congenially, looking around a everything an taking in my surroundings. Dishes scattered the floor some of the countertops, and multiple racks and shelves above the sink. A large metal door which I suspected led into a refrigerator was against one wall, and I couldn't help but notice the boom box on the counter next to me.   
  
About that time, a tall blonde guy whom I recognized as the general manager walked back quietly from the front part of the store, smirking and indicating for me to be quiet. He sneaked up behind David and grabbed him by the shoulders, yelling abruptly.  
  
I laughed as David fell back on his butt, nearly hitting his head on the counter. "Oh my gosh! Jack, don't DO that!"  
  
Jack was in a mess of laughter, nearly on the floor with David, who seemed extremely exasperated. "Davey, lighten up, it's jus a joke." He turned to me with a goofy lopsided grin and extended a hand. "Hey, you must be Trey. I'm Jack, but you can call me Cowboy. And this here's my good buddy Davey. He's gonna train you. Best in the business!"  
  
David smiled slightly, ducking out from under Cowboy's arm. "I learned everything I know from Jack."  
  
By now, the manager was looking me up and down, rubbing his chin slightly. "Trey, huh? That'll never do. See kid, we've all got nicknames around here. You got one already, or we gonna have to come up with one?"  
  
I decided against bringing up the fact that the closest thing David had to a nickname was Davey. "Well, I guess there is a little something…see, when I first got the patch a long time ago, my friends started making fun of me and all, and eventually their jokes turned into the nickname Kid Blink." I shrugged nonchalantly, a bit embarrassed. I had always thought it to be pretty dumb, and it was rarely used except once in awhile by Mush…which is a funny story in and of itself. But anyway…  
  
"Alright, Kid Blink it is," Jack approved, starting to walk off with a grin "Have fun training, lemme know if David gives you any trouble!"  
  
David laughed and shook his head, noting my still somewhat apprehensive expression. "He's really a great guy, once you get to know him."  
  
"Yeah, he seems cool," I agreed. More than apprehensive, I was mostly overwhelmed. This was just so different from what I had expected a job to be like. I tried to take it all in as David began leading me towards the back of the store.  
  
"First, I'll take you on a tour of the place. As you can see, it's a lot bigger than it looks from the outside."  
  
I nodded, taking it all in as David showed me everything. The back hall, where the fifty-pound boxes of drink syrup, among other things, were kept, the helium tanks (forbidden, yet oh-so-humorous sources of amusement, especially on late nights), and the unreliable mop well, where we keep most cleaning items (mops, brooms, etc.) The drain had a history of backing up and causing huge messes, he explained. To our right were shelves and racks of miscellaneous products, such as sauces, paper bags, and whatever else happened to show up there.  
  
"Now we'll go upstairs and watch some videos, then come back down and I'll show you frontbar and backbar."  
  
Wait. Hold up. "This place has an upstairs?" My interview had been held in the dining room, so this was the first time I had ever entered the store. Looks certainly can be deceiving.   
  
David laughed and led me up a narrow flight of stairs to a small room that housed a few tables and chairs, a huge pile of boxes, and a small television set. Off to the other side was another small room, which at a glance appeared to be an office. David and I sat down at one of the tables and he put in a DVD.  
  
"Hey, this is great, I get paid to sit around and watch movies!" I commented with a laugh.  
  
David shook his head and laughed dryly. "Oh yeah…fun stuff…"  
  
The sarcasm dripping from his voice made sense about thirty seconds into the first movie. It should be illegal to film this stuff, it's so boring. After an hour or two of sheer boredom (how to clean an ice cream machine? Come on!) intermixed with a few sarcastic comments from Dave and other random people that walked up, my trainer finally announced that, "Torture session is over for today. We'll go downstairs and have a look at backbar and frontbar, meet some people, then you're free!"  
  
"Sounds good," I chuckled, following my new friend down the stairs.   
  
"Hey, you're the new guy, Kid Blink, right?" Boy, news sure did travel fast around here. I would have to make a mental note of that (which did, by the way, do me good later to remember). "They call me Fighter, and that's what you'll be calling me."  
  
I looked the girl up and down. She was quite pretty, even in her frumpy manager's uniform, but her electric blue eyes made me feel a tad uncomfortable. "Nice to meet you."  
  
She shook my hand with a smirk. "I'll be keepin an eye on you! Haha, get it?"   
  
I laughed, albeit somewhat artificially. Never heard that one before… However, I wasn't quite used to strangers poking fun at it. I didn't care, it was just a little…weird.   
  
I met a few other people, a guy they called Specs who was working backbar, a guy coming in for training right after me named Thomas, and a girl on frontbar with Sarah--I mean, Lil Italy--who had been dubbed Rant. David took me over to the computer to show me how to clock out, handed me my plastic-wrapped uniform, and told me to be in for work tomorrow at five. I was really looking forward to it. So far, I really liked all my co-workers and the work didn't seem too hard. I couldn't wait to see what this simple, part-time job held for me…boy, was I in for a ride… 


	3. Day One

Chapter 3: Day One  
  
Happy Shout Outs!  
  
~Rubix: Yay yay yay yay! Hehe, and coffee rocks!  
  
~Fighter: Glad you're likin! Sorry you're not in this chapter…but you'll like it anyway!  
  
~Blue Boxer: Thanks girl, you're always so encouraging! And don't worry, your character will show up soon enough!  
  
~Air: Here ya go!  
  
~Flit: Yes, stupid guys+helium=mucho fun!  
  
~Frenchy: Oh yes, I suppose I should explain the relevance of the helium tanks…balloons for advertisement. Thanks for pointing that out!  
  
~Stagey: Yes, you'll be in soon enough! And I'm back! Hehe….been back…anyway!  
  
This chapter is a tad short, and not extremely hilarious, as I am expecting the future chapters to be! But it's some early "plot" development, which we can do away with eventually…haha…so, hope ya'll enjoy, and please review!   
  
~*~*~  
  
"I look stupid," I decided dejectedly as I examined my new uniformed self in the mirror. I felt like a white Steve Urkel. The pants came up to my belly button and shirt was about two sizes too big. I sighed and grabbed my car keys, figuring that everyone else looked just as dumb as I.  
  
Once at work, I clocked in as David had shown me and headed to the back to find him. No sign of David, but I was greeted by Jack. "Heya Blink, ready for your first day?"  
  
I watched as he pulled a basket of chicken nuggets out the oil and dumped them in to a large metal drawer. "Uh, yeah…what should I do?"  
  
"Hey Lida." Jack looked up as a short redhead with a somewhat disinterested look on her face walked back through the door. "You're gonna be trainin the new guy on front bar tonight." Jack introduced us to each other. I was still getting used to being called Blink on a regular basis.  
  
Lida Rose's expression brightened slightly, and she surreptitiously looked me up and down. "Alright, sounds good." Then to me, "Let's get started, shall we?"  
  
"Uh, sure." I followed her as she walked to the back, apparently only to put down her purse before turning around and heading back towards the front. "Um, they want me up front? Like, takin orders and all?"  
  
She turned around and looked at me a little amusedly. "Yeah, we figure we'll start you out up there and see how it goes." She paused at the sink to wash her hands and I followed suit. "Is that okay with you?" Her tone wasn't challenging--slightly annoyed if anything--but mainly kind and concerned.   
  
"Oh, no, it's fine, no problem." I enjoyed working with people and all, but all the buttons on the cash register were slightly daunting. Seriously though, the thought of complete strangers putting their trust in me to "exceed customer expectations by providing quality service and impeccable food in a timely manner" every time was a tad unnerving. I was bound to get something wrong.   
  
I had already had the majority of the training I needed to operate the cash register and such, so Lida just showed me around, where the sauces, cups, bags, and everything else were, how to keep the place clean, yadda yadda. I watched her take a few orders, she gave me a few fake orders to punch in, and I just about had the hang of it. Business was pretty slow that night, so the two of us made some small talk. She really seemed like a cool person, just like everyone else I had met.  
  
I was in the middle of the inevitable explanation of my eye patch when a customer showed up.  
  
"You wanna take this one?" she whispered with an encouraging smile.  
  
"What? Already? I dunno…" I'm not sure why I was so nervous. My first customer…  
  
"Come on, you can do it!" She pushed me up to the register as the guy on the other side walked up and leaned a little ways over the counter.   
  
"Uhh, I'm not really sure what I want…"  
  
Lida nodded at me and I proceeded to make suggestions, as I had been taught in the training videos. My first order went over without a hitch. "Way to go!" she congratulated after my first customer had left. "See, it wasn't so hard, was it?"  
  
I smiled and chuckled slightly, inwardly shaking and rejoicing that I had gotten off to such a good start. "Yeah, nothin to it…"  
  
For the next hour or so, everything went great. I took a few more orders, learned a few more things, and met Skittery, the tall, sarcastic yet friendly guy on back bar. But, as we know, all good things must come to an end…  
  
Did I mention I have a slight anger problem? Nothing major, really. I just tend to get really ticked sometimes. Like when I see an injustice, or one of my friends--or, in this case, new acquaintances--is attacked, or challenged. So here's what happened. You see, Lida is a very curvy chick. Not fat, just not bone thin. Needless to say, she's…well-endowed. So anyway, this teenage chump came up and inevitably went to her register. I could tell that he was bothering her, so I edged closer to listen in.  
  
"Hey, why don't you write your number on that cup?"  
  
Her cheeks flushed red and she bared her teeth in a challenging smile. "No, that's alright, thanks."  
  
He wouldn't take the drink. "Come on baby, I just want your number!"  
  
"I said no, sir, now please take your food and have a nice day." I admire her self-control.  
  
"Whatsamattah, baby? Ain't the customer always right?" Okay, that was too much.  
  
"Hey buddy, I'd really appreciate it if you'd quit botherin my friend." Calm, just stay calm…  
  
"Oh yeah?" His stupid, slightly glazed eyes turned to me and, thankfully, off of Lida's chest. "Well whatcha gonna do about it, Patchy?" He was quite amused with himself.  
  
However, he quit laughing when I reached over the counter and grabbed him by the collar. "Try me," I snarled menaciningly, about to lose it when Jack appeared from the back. How convenient…  
  
"Hey, what's goin on up here?" He pulled me back and dealt with the harasser as I walked up to Lida. "You alright?"  
  
She raised her eyes slightly and bit her lip. If I didn't know better, I could've sworn she was trying not to laugh. "Yeah, it happens all the time."  
  
Once the twerp was gone, Jack turned to me, also seemingly holding back a burst of laughter. "Wow, your first day and you're already beatin up the customers." He tried to sound stern.  
  
"But Jack, he was botherin Lida." I started to become very embarrassed as the initial rage wore off.   
  
"I know. That guy comes up all the time, always messin with the girls. I've threatened to call security on him so many times…surprised I haven't…But seriously, if there's a problem out here, come get me, don't get violent!"  
  
I sighed and hung my head to avoid his exasperated glare. "I know, I'm sorry…I just got so mad…and sometimes, when I get mad…" I clenched my fists as Jack put an arm around me with a chuckle.   
  
"Then maybe frontbar ain't the place for you. We get a lot of difficult customers, and I don't want us to get sued." I was fully expecting to be fired on the spot. But Jack seemed to think next to nothing of it. He even told me he wouldn't tell Kloppman; that is, if nothing of the sort ever happened again. "So why don't we try you out back here on boards with Skitts?"  
  
"Boards? What?" I had thought it was called backbar…  
  
"Boards, backbar, place we cook the food…whatever you wanna call it, it sucks." Skittery laughed at my confused look. "I'm just kidding, it ain't as bad as frontbar." As Skittery showed me the ropes, he also added in a few bits of advice that I would need to know if I wanted to survive happily at this store…  
  
COMING NEXT CHAPTER!! WOOT WOOT, I HAVE SUSPENSE! Haha, I hope you enjoyed this chapter…a little short, I know…not too funny, I know…not much happened, I know…but I promise, next chapter will be better! Please review lovies! 


	4. Day One Continued

I think I'll do shout-outs first, as is customary…ha…  
  
Rubix: Ha! My boss hates hairnets…and you'll be on backbar, and kitchen, and maybe some frontbar…I dunno, I'll make you versatile… ;)  
  
Stagey: You'll be in it soon enough, I promise! Gosh, I love Lion King…I'm surrounded by idiots… looks around to see no one but her muses Uh-huh…  
  
Air: No!!! Not the lock-down! gasp I'm gasp clausterphobic!! Ahh!! Haha, no, just kidding…  
  
Bookey Elliot: blushes Aww, thanks! Hope you like!  
  
Lil' Italy: Ooh, sorry about the misspelling…and yes, I thrive on difference…muhaha…see, I can't even spell an evil laugh right…  
  
Frenchy: You'll see yourself soon! holds up mirror Haha, I crack myself up! drops mirror …in more ways than one…? shakes head What I mean to say is, Thanks for the review! :D  
  
Flit: Well, we already had plenty of ugly apes and not enough plot development, so I did the next best thing…haha! Thanks for readin and reviewin!  
  
LAST TIME:  
  
As Skittery showed me the ropes, he also added in a few bits of advice that I would need to know if I wanted to survive happily at this store…  
  
And that's where we left off…so that's where we'll begin…wow, I'm nifty… BD (that's a guy with glasses grinning, btw…lol!)  
  
"First of all," Skittery began, "don't tell Fighter anything that you don't want the whole store to know. If you have a crush on someone, she'll probably figure it out, but don't tell her. That's the worst thing you can do. Take it from me. Personal experience talkin here." He seemed to be waiting for me to show some sign of acknowledgement, so I nodded and he continued, scooping a box of fries for the current order. "If you're on backbar and you see a group of Mexicans coming, drop chargrills." What? It sounded a tad racist at first, but he went on to explain, "It's a fact. Mexicans seem to order a lot of Deluxes and Clubs." Both of those sandwiches use chargrilled chicken instead of the normal fried patty. "Let's see, what else…oh, if someone tells you to rotate the ice, don't do it. It's the classic new guy practical joke."  
  
"Rotate the ice?" I repeated curiously, casting a glance around the corner to the large ice machine. There was a big door that swung upwards from which ice was scooped into a bucket for use on frontbar, and there were some sliding plastic windows above this which opened to the top of the machine.  
  
"Rotate, you know, scoop from the bottom, put it back in the top area. They do it to most of the new people for laughs, it's really quite funny to watch."  
  
"Then why'd you warn me about it?" I followed his lead and helped him box up some nuggets and slide them down the chute.  
  
Skittery cast me a narrow glance and chuckled. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to be one the few smart new people, you know? Gotta have one of them once in awhile."  
  
I laughed, then wiped my hands off on my apron, the screens clear of any orders. "Is there anything else you need me to do?"  
  
He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Actually, there is somethin you could do. You know the hot water nozzle on the coffee machine on frontbar?" I nodded and he continued. "Well, once a week, we drain that out. Get one of the big pickle buckets from the mop well and take it up front and do that, okay?"  
  
"Alright!" I agreed, and eagerly set out on my task. It struck me as a tiny bit peculiar, but I didn't question it. I guess it made a little sense…so after I had been at it for about a minute and a half or so, Lida finished with her customer and came up behind me, her head cocked to the side inquisitively.   
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
Shouldn't she know this? "I'm draining out all the hot water, like you guys do every week."  
  
She sighed and shook her head, snickering. "Skittery!"  
  
Then I heard hoots of laughter from backbar. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist!"  
  
I stopped 'draining' and put down the bucket. "What?"  
  
Lida lay a hand on my shoulder, trying to stiffle her giggles. "Blink, the hot water's connected to the water line, there's no way to drain it. It was a trick."  
  
I felt my cheeks flush madly. "Kinda like rotating the ice?"  
  
"Yeah, how'd you know about that one? Don't tell me he pulled that one on you, too!"  
  
"No actually, but he warned me about it!"  
  
"Only so you'd be more prone to believe me when I told you to do this! Am I good, or am I good?" Skittery stood at the opening between front and backbar and proudly accepted a high-five from Jack.  
  
"Don't worry Kid, everyone goes through their first-day initiations, right guys? On Lida's first day, we had Snipeshooter hide in a cardboard box in the refrigerator and jump out when she came back to get some salads," Jack explained good-naturedly.  
  
Lida laughed at the memory. "Yeah, and for the next week I refused to run any more errands like that for anybody!"  
  
Eventually I started laughing too and rejoined Skittery on backbar.  
  
"I think that's the best piece of advice I can give you: learn to laugh at yourself. It'll make your job so much easier."  
  
I nodded, chuckling. "So what else do you have to teach me, master?"   
  
He smirked. "I think you can learn the rest on your own."  
  
A daunting task, I must say. I stayed on backbar for awhile and Skittery and I got to know each other a little better. Turns out we had a lot in common, including the fact that both of us had had paper routes when we were younger. As I would come to find out, that was true for a lot of the guys. Seemed to be some kind of eerie common bond most of us shared…  
  
Before I knew it, my three hour shift was over. Skittery assured me that I would start working longer hours and be closing soon, but they just liked to start new people out on short shifts. I waved goodbye and turned around to walk out--  
  
THUMP!  
  
That was the sound of my rear end connecting with the greasy, slippery floor. I quickly scuttled to my feet, if that was even a word, much less an action, and started laughing along with Skittery.  
  
"A-Are the floors always this slippery?" I chuckled, rubbing my bum and trying not to blush as I heard Jack and another girl laughing behind me.  
  
"Usually worse," came Jack's answer along with a hand on my shoulder.   
  
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," the girl giggled gently, extending a hand. "I'm Allison, but around here I'm Rubix. You must be Blink."  
  
I nodded, shaking her hand. "Yep. Well, it was nice meeting you, but my shift's over, I better get goin!"  
  
Jack shrugged, hoisting himself up on the counter and popping a nugget in his mouth. "You can hang around it you want to. Clock out first, but you can stay for awhile and hang out or whatever. God knows everyone else does."  
  
As if on cue, the swinging door opened and in walked a tall, beautiful girl sans uniform.  
  
"Hey you," Jack greeted with a slightly goofy grin. "What are you up to tonight?"  
  
"Hey Stagey," Rubix piped up, waving and heading up front to take care of the growing line.  
  
The girl, Stagey apparently, ran a hand through her long brown hair and shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothin. Why do you think I'm here?" She grinned and turned her attention to me. "Oh hi! I don't think I know you. I'm Belle Malone, but everyone calls me Stagey. You must be the new guy Jack was talking about."  
  
I shook her hand and nodded, casting an inquiring glance at Jack. "Yeah, I'm Trey, but I guess here I'm Kid Blink…" This was all still a little new to me…I wasn't too sure about the whole nickname thing, but I figured I'd catch on. "Why, what'd Jack have to say about me?"  
  
She giggled and blushed a little when Jack winked at her. "Oh, all good stuff, of course! He just mentioned we had a new employee."  
  
Jack grinned and hopped down from the counter, heading back to the kitchen, Stagey following close behind. I quickly went up front and clocked out, then headed to the back to talk to Skittery.  
  
"So what's up with them, they dating or something?"  
  
His normal sardonic laugh. "They may as well be. Everyone knows they like each other, but for some reason they're just not dating. They're 'best friends.'"  
  
I laughed along with him. "Ahh, I see. Any other couples I should know about?"  
  
"Around here, you never know. I swear, this store's a soap opera. I think Rant and Specs are seeing each other, and just about every guy in the store has seen Fighter, if ya know what I mean."  
  
I laughed along with him and leaned up against the large metal refrigerator.   
  
"So Kid, you got a girl?"  
  
"Nah."  
  
"Why not?"   
  
I must say I was impressed at his ability to carry on a conversation and work at the same time. Those screens were pretty stinkin confusing… "Eh, I dunno…too expensive, for one thing!"  
  
Skittery nodded with his trademark cynical chuckle. "Yeah, I've pretty much given up on girls. They're only good for one thing, you know?" He wiggled his eyebrows, as if I wouldn't realize what he meant anyway.  
  
"Yeah," I agreed half-heartedly. I had my own feelings on girls, but I didn't think either of us was in the mood for me to explain them. I looked at the clock on the wall. "Hey, I'd better be getting home. I'm not supposed to drive after eight."  
  
"Alright, well it was nice talkin to you, man. See ya around."  
  
"See ya." I waved goodbye to Lida and Rubix on my way out and headed home.  
  
An odd thing was happening. I was actually looking forward to my next shift. That was something completely unexpected. I had never imagined actually liking a job. The normal emotion connected to work was one of dread and loathing, perhaps even hatred or angst. Perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic, but that's the impression I always got from my parents.   
  
That's that for that chapter!  
  
LOKI: Now she's off to play 'How many times can I use THAT in a sentence'…  
  
Oh, now you show up!  
  
LOKI: shrugs  
  
Ahh, poo on you--  
  
LOKI: Such words of wisdom…  
  
ANYWAY, I'll update asap, but in the mean time, review pretty please! 


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